Jordan Barrett
From an academic standpoint, 2017 has been a very good year for Jordan Barrett ’18. Barrett is a senior physics and mathematics major in the and a participant in the . In May, he was one of two ϲ Students to be honored with a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship (Maizy Ludden is the other, and a third student, Ismael Gonzalez, received honorable mention). In June, Barrett was named a recipient of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation award. And just last month, he attended a gala event in Washington, D.C., for Astronaut Scholars nationwide. He recently had a few free moments to answer four questions from ϲ.
The Innovator’s Gala was held for the first time this year, in celebration of the new class of Astronaut Scholars. It was a really fantastic experience. In addition to professional development workshops, networking opportunities with various industry leaders and a tour of the National Air and Space Museum, we had the good fortune to interact with astronauts like Michael Collins (of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon) and Al Worden (of Apollo 15). It was really a childhood dream come true.
Most of what we did in D.C. was geared toward students looking to do industry work after graduation, and in particular students who study aerospace engineering. However, spending a weekend with a group of genuinely brilliant students was amazing.
The history of NASA and the Apollo missions in particular speak to most students of physics, I think. They represent former impossibilities that were only made possible by the dedication of scientists, engineers and mathematicians across the country.
I plan to pursue a Ph.D., and eventually to become a professor and research scientist.
